Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Pratt & Whitney is considering
building an engine for the Airbus SAS A350 long-haul plane to
challenge Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc’s monopoly on the new
aircraft, people familiar with the plan said.

Pratt & Whitney would offer an engine based on its PW1000G
geared turbofan technology, said the people, who asked not to be
named because the plan isn’t public. A decision to formally
pursue the program may come as soon as this year, one of the
people said.

Airbus had originally sought a second engine offering to
Rolls-Royce’s TrentXWB on its A350. It had failed to persuade
either General Electric Co., which powers the competing Boeing
Co. 777, or Pratt & Whitney, which was tied up developing the
geared turbofan. Airlines including Air France-KLM have said
they’d welcome a choice because it would give them leverage on
maintenance, a major source of revenue for Rolls-Royce.

Airbus, based in Toulouse in France, would have to sign off
on the Pratt plan before airlines could opt for the engine. The
company is “happy that the one engine we have on offer has
already achieved 617 sales,” spokeswoman Marcella Muratore
said. “However we have always said that we would consider other
offers if they are competitive in terms of performance.”

“As Pratt & Whitney looks ahead to powering future wide-body applications, we will scale the geared turbofan
architecture to the required thrust levels,” the company said
in an e-mailed request for comment. “We continue to keep all
airframers informed of our progress on the PW1000G family,
including studies with Airbus for potential wide-body
applications.”

Managing Resources

Pratt & Whitney’s A350 engine would have to be more than
twice as powerful as its existing versions. The company, a
subsidiary of Hartford, Connecticut-based United Technologies
Corp., has undertaken studies that show the leap can be made
even if technical hurdles must be overcome, one person said.

The engine maker remains interested in using its technology
to power big jets, Bob Saia, who oversees Pratt’s next-generation products, said in an interview this month. Pratt
decided not to compete for a spot on the upgraded version of
Boeing’s 777 due around the end of the decade, a program drawing
interest from GE and Rolls-Royce, the industry leaders.

Approved Engine

Development of Pratt engines for regional and single-aisle
jets is nearing an end, with the turbines in flight testing.
That’s freed up resources to pursue a slot on larger airliners.

Rolls has won exclusive rights from Airbus to offer the
TrentXWB on the A350-1000, the largest model, while its position
on the -900, the first and most popular version, and on the
smaller -800, can be challenged.

The A350 is set for its maiden flight in the middle of this
year. The aircraft’s small and mid-sized variants compete with
Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, while the large model is positioned
against the popular 777, which boasts the world’s largest engine
made by GE.

European safety authorities gave their approval this month
to the TrentXWB ahead of first flight on an A350-900. The engine
has already flown on an A380 test bed.

Air France has been trying to gain rights to maintain
turbines from Rolls-Royce as part of a long-planned order for
A350s. Failure to strike an accord between the airline, which
wants to bolster its technical unit, and the engine maker, which
wants to protect its profitable after-sales income, has delayed
a deal.

The airline, which has already place a firm order for 787
Dreamliners, plans to have an accord with Airbus on the A350 by
the end of this year, Chief Executive Office Jean-Cyril Spinetta
said today.